Thomas Cook Hit With Massive Fine Over Delayed Flights

A court has ordered the UK based airline Thomas Cook to pay-out nearly £20,000 to forty-one passengers, whose flight was barred from leaving Mexico because Thomas Cook refused or was unable to complete a $200 air tax.

The forty-one passengers who all hail from the UK, saw themselves grounded in the Mexican resort of Cancun for two days. A Court Judge in Manchester deliberated in the case and came to the conclusion, that the company was at fault and now has to pay £600 to each passenger.

However, the number of people able to make a claim may increase and Thomas Cook may have to recompense an extra seven-hundred and fifty passengers, who were also affected by the postponement. The total bill for this may come to an astonishing £350,000.

The flight had been recorded to leave from Cancun To Manchester at 5.30pm on Saturday, December 1, 2012. But the passengers were barred from making the flight from the Mexican airline government authority SENEAM, who seized the airplane.

The plane was scheduled to make to return trips from Cancun to Manchester over that weekend.

The Mexican government alleged that Thomas Cook had failed to make a mandatory $200 payment that all airlines are forced to pay and they stopped the plane from leaving Mexican airspace until the payment had been made.

Thomas Cook replied by saying that they had indeed attempted to complete the payment, but the Mexican authorities had told them they they would not accept a cash or cheque payment, the payment had to be made via electronic channels.

The passengers of the flight were forced to spend two extra nights in a hotel, whilst the airline and the Mexican authorities tried to sort out the problem.

Following the passengers return to the UK, the travelers had contacted Thomas Cook and asked the airline to pay them compensation for the hold-up in Cancun. Thomas Cook refused to issue their customers a refund, so in-response the passenger took the matter to court where they won the lawsuit.